Week 1 Reflection

What is differentiated instruction? I really liked Jule’s infographic, especially the first image she used. I hope she doesn’t mind me copying it here.

I think this one image encompasses the essence of what differentiated instruction is. I admit to teaching “one size fits all”, and that is what the left image shows me, but the right image shows me that I need to tailor students’ education so all can succeed. I think this image also states the emotion and state of the shortest kid before and after differentiation.

Differentiation is difficult in high school mathematics, but I do feel that technology can help. I hope this class will open up some ideas and strategies to help me better instruct my differing levels of math students that are supposedly in the same Algebra 2 class! Although there is merit in using differentiation, there is also some merit in teaching math with “drill and kill” worksheets. How can you get better in anything without practice? You can’t get better at fishing for salmon just by reading about life cycles, feeding habits, tides, and best trolling practices. You have to go out there and DO IT. And let me tell you, what works trolling for salmon in Ketchikan may not work in Juneau! My point is, “drill and kill” has value even if seems antiquated.